The present invention relates generally to the field of articles and methods for distress-washing fabrics.
Distress-washing fabric, also commonly referred to in the industry as “stone washing,” is a textiles manufacturing process whereby new cloth garments are tumbled in an industrial clothes washer with stones or other articles to give the garments a worn appearance. During the process, as the wash cylinder rotates about a horizontal axis, the stones repeatedly impact the cloth fibers as the stones and garments tumble inside the drum. While stone washing is an effective process to produce a faded, worn appearance, the process can also be used to increase the softness and flexibility of otherwise stiff and rigid fabrics, such as canvas and denim.
Current methods for distress-washing fabrics, such as denim jeans, include tumbling the garments in an industrial washer with water and pumice stones. As known to those skilled in the art, pumice is a desirable choice for distressing fabrics due to its high-porosity and low-density, which makes it an excellent abrasive and allows it to float in the washer. However, there are several disadvantages to using pumice, such as the durability of the stones over time and the grit and sludge produced as the stones are ground away. Specifically, as the pumice stones are tumbled within the washer, they contact one another, the internal surfaces of the machine and the fabric, and are ground away. This results in not only stones having to be replaced, but also requires that the grit and sludge be removed from both the washer and from embedded in the fabric, requiring additional processing steps.
To overcome the disadvantages of using pumice to distress fabric, alternative distressing articles have been developed including chemical treatments, resin articles defining a rough surface, and perlite sand, among others. While chemical treatments may achieve a specific effect, they typically are not able to adequately duplicate the effects of mechanical distressing. As for resin balls, although they tend to have more mass than pumice and are more durable, they still are not ideal for mechanical distressing. As for perlite sand, while it is light, porous, sterile and chemically neutral, perlite is like pumice in that it produces grit during the distressing process that must be removed from the washer and fabric.
Accordingly, what is desired is an article for distress-washing fabric that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art articles. A desirable article would be capable of producing the desired amount of distress during processing in an industrial washer, while at the same time being extremely durable, chemically neutral and environmentally friendly. Further, a desirable distressing article would not wear away upon impact with other articles or the machine, and thus would not produce grit or sludge, obviating the need for additional processing steps.